SotB XXV: Spoils of War
The Agents are recruited for an operation that will take them to Yavin IV, the former stronghold of the Rebel Alliance, in order to procure a piece of wreckage from the dreaded Death Star! However, in order to succeed, they must avoid the Imperials that have garrisoned the planet, weary of any attempt to scavenge pieces of their once-infamous battlestation... Agents Session 1 * Fai Mei * R0C-K4 * Saber Scintel * Uris-Vay Session 2 Session 2 Recording * D4RT * Gristle * Hawk * Jokan Benn * Rogesh Vai Mission Report Summary by Ben The crew is called into Balken’s makeshift laboratory where projections of Reom, Cratala and Borga are all present, discussing the potential discovery of an ejected datapod from the wreckage of the Death Star. The pod itself is somewhere near the Imperial base on Yavin IV and, according to Balken’s projections, hasn’t been discovered by the local forces yet. Skeptical, the group asks for details of the plan before proceeding. Apparently, a stolen Lambda-class called the Relent has been outfitted with jamming systems that will allow the crew to insert themselves without detection. Upon landing, the jamming systems will recharge for the return trip. Begrudgingly accepting the job, the group is introduced to a new associate, Ronin, who will accompany them on the mission. With little introduction, they head out and make the jump toward their destination. In orbit, they are questioned by an Imperial official, but using their cover as a transport from a mining station, they are able to easily gain access to the planet. Once in orbit, Jokan fakes a malfunction and Rogesh deceives the local base into believing they’d suffered some sort of sabotage. Once out of sight, they activate the jamming systems and slip off to a different part of the forest to land and continue the mission. Setting out, Rogesh and Gristle head the team to find their way. The trip goes smoothly. They encounter some predators, but are able to sneak around them without issue. Later on, they also encounter more humanoid predators: a squad of scout troopers, but they are also able to evade their attention. Eventually, they find their way to a cave entrance and are quickly dragged inside by a group of men in tattered armor. Jokan and Rogesh identify them as members of the Rebellion’s Lost Legion. Jokan identifies himself to them and is quickly ushered inside, along with the rest of the team. They’re introduced to the base’s captain, who recognizes Jokan immediately and praises him for his work with the rebellion. Jokan fills him in on the mission, surprising the captain, and the two share some information. The captain details the hazards of operating in the area, including a group of mysterious predators that have been ambushing some of the rebel scouts and infiltrators. Jokan asks about any tasks the group might be able to perform for the rebel commander while they’re on-planet. He points them to a nearby Imperial installation and a mobile base that he would like disrupted. It’s a small deviation from their path, so they agree to take it on if they find an opportunity. Before leaving, the group offers their services to the base’s personnel. Gristle heads to the medical bay to attempt to save a critically wounded patient, but finds that he’s beyond saving. From there, he fixes up some minorly wounded patients while Ronin and Jokan team up to repair the base’s YT-class freighter. For their aid, the rebel commander loans the team a set of scanner goggles and the team sets off into the night. After a short time of travelling, they hear the sound of thunder and the sight of a shower of fireballs raining from the sky, likely a falling field of debris from the Death Star’s wreckage. Most of the team manages to find cover or escape the impact zone, but Ronin is injured by a falling tree. Gristle fixes him back up and the group reforms to keep going until they reach a river with a temple in the distance. D4 uses his rocket boots to carry a rope across the river and tie it off so the group can cross. Everyone makes it across without any issues, and Rogesh even chooses to show off by tightrope-walking the whole way. Proceeding through the forest, the team eventually makes it to the temple. Inside, they see three paths branching off, but only the center path is completely visible. Jokan finds a set of claw marks that must belong to the predators the rebel commander had mentioned. With the coordinates to the pod pointing inside, the group proceeds through the center tunnel and finds a hole in both the ceiling and floor that seems to descend down into the darkness. Utilizing some climbing gear, D4 climbs down through the basement levels of the temple until he sees some glowing eyes in the darkness below. D4 climbs back up and accidentally knocks down a stone along the way. The stone falls to the bottom of the pit and elicits a loud roar from whatever is lurking below. Regrouping at the top of the set of holes, the group decides to try one of the side passages instead, and find themselves in some sort of downward spiral. They come out to a medium-sized room with a stone door on the far end. After some exploring, Rogesh finds a switch hidden by some damaged stone and the door opens, revealing a chamber filled with those same glowing eyes and a similar roar sounds out to them. Rogesh calls back, announcing that the team comes in peace, but is responded to by a large figure in the back of the chamber. Ronin recognizes the responding language as an ancient Sith dialect. Thoroughly fed up with the standoff, D4 charges forward to engage the waiting creatures. Hawk immediately opens fire on the larger creature in front, scoring a pair of hits with his dual blasters before a spear is loosed at him in retaliation. He ducks out of the way, causing the spear to shatter on the wall behind him. Jokan immediately steps up to take advantage of Hawk’s attack and guns down the large creature at the head of the enemy contingent. Ronin opens fire on the one at the back of the room ahead, and he hears it call out, making out the word “gather” from its speech. D4 and Rogesh move in to engage what appears to be the creatures’ leader while it attempts to gather its brethren. Gristle keeps his distance behind them and tries to direct the others. Hawk engages the smaller creatures as they gather, and the leader retaliates, smashing D4’s staff out of his hands. Seeing an opportunity, more of the creatures flood in to follow their leader’s direction in striking at D4. The battle rages on for a few minutes, with more creatures rushing in while the team attempts to thin them out. The leader battles D4 with what appears to be a glowing spear, eventually disabling the droid and closing on Hawk. Its bodyguards also join in, but are quickly felled by the party’s efforts, and eventually even the leader is brought down by an accurate shot from Jokan. With the room settled, the group takes a moment to recuperate before inspecting the room further, finding the wrecked pod. Jokan and Ronin manage to strip the data storage units from it and copy it over successfully, and Ronin happens to intercept a signal from an Imperial commander, stating that they had found the Relent. Returning to the rebel base, the team asks the commander for assistance in reclaiming their shuttle. The commander agrees and dispatches some ships to provide a distraction. Heading back to the shuttle, the distraction goes off without much of an issue, giving them an opportunity to escape. Back at Borga’s station, they find their employers gathered and waiting. Jokan attempts to negotiate for them to allow a copy of the data to be given to the rebels, but they disallow it. Jokan later attempts to get Balken to copy it on the sly, but Balken initially refuses. With the promise of credits for Balken’s research ventures and with aid from a rebel contact, Jokan is eventually able to convince him and turn the data in. Smelling the opportunity for credits, Hawk goes through Borga to reveal the location of the rebel cell on Yavin IV. Sensing some deception, Jokan seeks out the information leak, but is caught by Borga while snooping into his business. Displeased, the Hutt makes note of Jokan’s distrust. SotB 025